Man who robbed and attacked Ashford shop keeper sent to Crown court
A man has appeared in court charged with robbing a man and racially abusing a shop assistant in Ashford. He is understood to have pulled into an alleyway near Ashford High Street at around 1am on Saturday 7 March 2020 and had belongings, including his wallet, stolen. At around 6.45am on the same morning, police were called to a disturbance at a shop in the High Street, where a man had reportedly racially abused and thrown a shopping basket at staff. It is alleged that fraudulent transactions were made at the shop using a bank card stolen in the earlier robbery. Luke Pope, of Berridge Road, Sheerness, has since been charged with robbery, assault, two counts of fraud and using racially aggravated threatening words or behaviour. The 31-year-old appeared at Medway Magistrates’ Court on Monday 9 March and was remanded in custody until his next appearance at Canterbury Crown Court on Monday 6 April.
